Introduction: The Contemporary Relevance of Vilém Flusser

Abstract

In this article, we introduce Vilém Flusser’s theoretical trajectory from the philosophy of language and multilingualism to communication and media theory. Our focus lies on his works Kommunikologie [ Communicology] and Kommunikologie weiter denken [ Thinking Communicology Further]. Kommunikologie, which was written in Flusser’s mid-career in the 1970s, but only published in the 1990s, consists of a set of articles and lectures and offers, among other notions, a great distinction between dialogue and discourse. The article takes this differentiation and explains its advantages and limitations. This leads to the introduction of the concept of algorithmic mediation as a ‘communicological’ take on current media developments. This also allows us to return to Flusser’s question about the disappearing home and the need for windows to the world. We hence offer a combination of different aspects of his work less as a tool for the analysis of current developments than as a call for action.